Two Sides of the Same Coin
by Pyro Raptor77
Summary: The Pendulum Wars were hard on everyone, especially coupled with E-day and the Winter of Sorrows. However, the human race acts in mysterious ways, and even as they fight for survival, there is more infighting from the Pendulum Wars than anyone thought.
1. Chapter One: The Winter of Sorrows

The people of Landown were scared. They were always scared, because they were constantly being preyed on. No matter how much the mayor asked for help from Jacinto, they never received any support. Jacinto wasn't even a day's ride from Landown, and the Stranded living there were certainly not happy with their current condition. The convoys that brought supplies from Jacinto were constantly being raided, but the Coalition of Governments didn't see it as necessary to assign soldiers to guard them; after all, the city was so close to the capitol, and the Plateau was a fortress. Nothing bad could happen that close to their stronghold's walls.

Or so they thought.

Landown was attacked five years after E-day in the middle of the night one winter by an immense amount of locust, with only one squad under a Lieutenant Bryce to protect it.

The night started quietly enough, as usual. The COGs made sure that everyone was in their houses by curfew and were patrolling the streets as was their jobs, but Locust never came into the city; they only attacked unguarded convoys.

"Aw man, this shit _sucks,_" complained Private Lee.

"Doesn't it always?" replied a weary Private Phillips.

"You know, maybe instead of hanging around here where there are no grubs, we should protect our supply lines. Grubs have fun with those, but no, Prescott finds it unnecessary, so we'll just let men and supplies go to waste when we don't have enough of either in the first place!" Lee voiced angrily. Phillips ignored him; he made a speech like this nearly every night, after all, so he just kept watching the streets.

"Hey, did you see that?" Phillips asked, raising his Lancer – an automatic machine gun with a mounted chainsaw bayonet – and scanning the street ahead of them with it. Lee raised his gun as well and they moved slowly forward.

"Are you sure you saw anything?" Lee asked quietly.

"It was just a shadow; I don't know if it was locust or human," Phillips replied.

"It was probably just a dog," Lee said, though he didn't lower his gun. Phillips scoffed.

"Yeah, and the locust will surrender tomorrow with offerings of roses and chocolate," he replied. Seeing nothing in or around the street, or in the alleys branching from it, he lowered his weapon with a sigh. He looked at the building where he'd thought he'd seen the shadow, noting that it was the food storage building. He frowned.

"One of those greedy Stranded are probably in there stealing our food," he said angrily.

"Oh, I'll get him, don't worry," Lee said. "Come on out, asshole! We know you're in there!" There was no answer, so Lee started to head around the back of the building while Phillips guarded the front.

Somehow, Landown always managed to be low on food, even with the careful rationing. Now, Phillips thought, they would catch the person responsible for that.

His attention was soon grabbed by something else, however; a whistling noise that he knew all too well.

"Nemacyst!" he shouted, and he and Lee immediately ran behind the stores building, hoping that the living bomb wasn't aimed at that particular spot. A building down the road exploded in a cloud of ink, and they could hear more coming.

"Theta Squad! Protect the citizens; we're evacuating!" Lieutenant Bryce shouted over the Com link, and the two could hear gunfire in the background.

"Wilco! Theta- Two out!" Phillips said back, tapping his earpiece. "Come on, Lee; we have bigger fish to fry."

---

Despite their effort to keep the Locust at bay, Theta could not save everyone. As a matter of fact, they hardly saved anyone; two of their men were killed in the attack, leaving only Lee, Phillips, and Bryce to evacuate the remaining citizens.

"Come on! We have to get these civilians out of here!" screamed Lieutenant Bryce, covering the rear as they retreated to he city limits. They could still see Nemacyst bombing the city like artillery cannons, destroying many buildings while the Locust burned others to the ground, and they could hear people screaming as the Locust eradicated them. Bryce clenched his jaw, frustrated that he couldn't save them. Only a few people near the edge of town made it out, and that was a meager population indeed.

The small band of survivors included a group of women from the factories, a convoy driver, a group of children and two teenagers. One of the women held a screaming infant in her arms and was trying in vain to calm it even though she was crying as well.

Lee and Phillips ushered the group forward, trying to comfort the crying women and the scared children, though they kept their eyes on their surroundings, hoping that they wouldn't be ambushed in such an open place.

"Theta to control, we need pickup!" Lieutenant Bryce said into his Com, pressing two fingers to his ear while he watched for more Locust. "Do you read?"

"Copy that, Lieutenant Bryce," a female voice crackled in over the com link. "Pickup is on its way. How many survivors are there?" The Lieutenant took a quick count of the small group.

"Eleven," he stated curtly. "Landown is gone." There was a short pause.

"Copy that. ETA is five minutes. Be careful."

"Wilco. Bryce out." He was silent for a moment, contemplating what should be done and then turned toward what was left of his squad. They looked rather small and desolate standing in front of the dead trees in the snow. "Alright, hit the trees, Theta! Take cover, pickup is on its way!" The squad complied, hiding the women and children back farther than they were by about ten meters, and once again Bryce moved to cover their rear, just in case there was an ambush in wait.

"Well there you go, Lee," Phillips mumbled. "You just had to wish for something else to do."

"This is _not_ what I meant," Lee replied, shooting down a Locust that had been chasing them. A loud, guttural roar sounded, and a slew of gray-skinned Locust climbed up the hill they had just ascended. Hammerburst bullets flew by them, and one of the women cried out in fear. Bryce moved to help them, using the trees as cover as the bullets made a trail through them. He tossed a Bolo Grenade among them, and because there were so many of them they couldn't flee, so a group of four died in a shrapnel-laden explosion. Other Locust were knocked down from the force of the explosion and were trampled by their own comrades.

_Crack!_

"What the hell?!" Lee yelled as a now-headless Locust dropped to the ground. He ducked behind a fallen tree and turned around, seeing one of the Stranded they'd rescued reloading a Longshot sniper rifle, looking incredulous at the fact that it was one of the teenage girls.

"Just keep shooting," Bryce said over the com link. The battle continued, the COG soldiers shooting down the oncoming Locust with their burning city in the background, and things started to look bleak as more and more kept coming.

Suddenly they felt a gust of wind and heard the roar of a helicopter, and they all dropped down behind cover in relief as a King Raven used its turret to cut down the entirety of the front line, and the rest of the Locust fled back to their new stronghold.

"It's about time!" Lee yelled, though it was in a more relieved tone than he'd intended it to be. The King Raven landed in the clearing and the women were loaded onto it before it took off. A second one took its place and the rest of the Stranded climbed in before the soldiers joined them, and they took off as well.

"So, what's with that girl?" Lee asked over com so that the Stranded wouldn't hear him. He cast a glance in the teenager's direction, where she currently was sitting with one of the children in her lap, hugging him and willing him to stop crying even though silent tears rolled down her cheeks as well. Her Longshot was slung over her shoulder, reminding them of exactly what she'd been able to do for them.

"She can't be more than eighteen," Phillips commented, noting her slight frame and long brown hair, tied back in a ponytail. She dressed pretty strangely, even for a Stranded; she wore a long black trench coat over a sweater, khaki cargos and combat boots, all of which were very worn and seemed to have been ripped and torn in multiple places, as was the clothes of the other Stranded, even bundled in their winter night clothing as they were. It didn't occur to the worn soldiers that she was the only one wearing her day clothes, either.

"Yeah, but where'd she get a sniper rifle? And how's she know how to use it?" Lee asked.

"That's none of your business, soldier," Bryce cut in with a stern look. Lee was silenced immediately, though he gave Phillips a questioning look, which was answered by a shrug. They turned their attention back to the girl for a moment more to find her staring at them in a confused and depressed manner, though she looked away quickly when they noticed. They cast each other questioning looks and came to the silent understanding that they would get to the bottom of this enigmatic Stranded before the next day was out.


	2. Chapter Two: Jacinto

In Jacinto, a scientist was working on her latest project in the lab, with no one left in the room. Her project was a difficult one, but she was going to perfect it soon… and then she would be able to go on with her plans, after a few minor details were worked out. She smiled to herself, thinking about her long-awaited goal that was about to be fulfilled. She was getting tired, though, and the labs would be closing soon, so she put everything away and prepared to leave.

"Dr. Gray?" a relatively young man said, poking his head around the corner from the hallway. The woman looked up, raising her brows at him.

"Come on in; I was just finishing up," she replied, putting away some of her tools. The man – who was relatively short, with blue eyes and brown hair – entered the room smiling jovially.

"I'd like to ask what you've been up to-"

"You already know that it's confidential," Dr. Gray cut in. "Did you have something else to say? I should hope that your visiting me won't be worthless." The man frowned.

"Well, yes, actually," he said, shuffling in place. The doctor looked up at him with piercing blue eyes, pushing some stray brown locks out of her face, which had come loose from her bun from working all day. "Landown was taken last night, ma'am." She raised her brows at him again.

"Really? That's strange," the young doctor asked, puzzled. "Locust aren't known to launch full-scale attacks on the Plateau." There was a pause.

"The escapees are coming in right now. There are only eleven," he said, watching her carefully for her reaction.

"I suppose they'll be taken to the hospital straight away, then?" she asked. He nodded. "Good. Walk me to the barracks, would you? I need some help carrying my equipment."

"Equipment? I thought you were done?" the man asked quizzically.

"I am, but I have a malfunctioning bot that I have to repair and I'd like to get started. I have a lot to do when I'm here, you know," Dr. Gray replied, walking over to a table and dragging a large cardboard box out from underneath it. It was practically overflowing with parts, and on top was the broken bot. "I should thank you kindly, Mr. Ryan, if you would help me out."

"Blake Ryan, at your service, ma'am," he said with a grin, striding over and picking up the box with some difficulty. "Lead the way." She nodded and strode down the corridor, hearing the mechanical doors slide shut as she pressed a panel, and the lights behind them shut down. They went through the lobby of the lab and out the front doors quickly, and Dr. Gray started to head down the street.

The barracks were quite a ways off, much nearer the hospital than the lab was, though there were garrisons throughout the city to protect from any danger that should arrive. They passed by two of these on the way to Dr. Gray's barracks, silent the entire time, until they turned the corner next to the hospital.

As Ryan had said, the party of survivors from Landown was just arriving and ambled across the street, looking frightened and cold. They weren't wearing very heavy clothes despite the cold weather, particularly because of the time they were attacked, and all of them looked grave and tired. None of the children, not even the small infant in one of the Stranded's arms, made a sound.

At the front of the group was a COG soldier, who seemed rather stern and determined in his mission to get these people to safety, but he kept his pace slow enough for the women behind him to keep up. The women, for the most part, seemed to have come from one of the factories. At these factories, Dr. Gray knew, the women would have been impregnated by artificial insemination, and during their pregnancies would work in industry to keep up COG supplies. In return they would get extra food rations, and then they would raise the child until it reached teenage years, when it would be either inducted into the army or would join her mother in the factory. Dr. Gray was offered the choice and opted to go into the army; she became an engineer and was trying to create new weaponry to fight the Locust. But she also knew that the COG wouldn't have let her fight if she wanted to; they kept all fertile women in the safe haven of Jacinto Plateau, so that if they ever needed them to 'repopulate', as she'd heard it said, they would still be alive and well. If she'd been infertile she'd have been able to do as she pleased; but as it was she was happy being a scientist. She wanted to work in Jacinto, for reasons that were her own.

Besides the infant in one of the women's arms, there were multiple children; Dr. Gray counted four. Two stumbled around the pregnant women's legs (Dr. Gray could tell with certainty that they were all at different stages of pregnancy, excluding the one with the baby), too tired to whine about the cold on their bare feet. Two more were being carried by two teenagers bringing up the rear.

This is what caught Dr. Gray's attention. One of the teenagers was whispering to the other, who listened to her without saying anything. It was the latter of the two that Dr. Gray studied for some time; she was staring at the ground in front of her, and seemed to be off in another dimension within her own mind. She had long brown hair in a ponytail, which hung over her shoulder, and there was a sniper rifle on her back. The strange thing, to Dr. Gray, wasn't that the girl had a Longshot in her possession, but that it was an older model, from the Pendulum Wars. Dr. Gray's father had owned one, and it had arrived at her house when he died; she had tried to find it before she left Landown five years before, just after E-day, but had been unable to, and this coincidence made her scrutinize the girl all the more.

"Do you recognize any of them?" Ryan asked anxiously. Dr. Gray cut her eyes at him dangerously. "I mean… I know you came from Landown, and… well, I was just wondering…"

"No," Dr. Gray lied. The girl _was_ familiar to her, but she'd done a lot of growing since Dr. Gray had last seen her… suddenly the girl looked up at her, fierce green eyes locking with Dr. Gray's blue ones. A flicker of confusion crossed the Stranded girl's face before recognition replaced it, and Dr. Gray hurried by the crowd. Ryan huffed and almost had to jog with the heavy box to keep up.

Despite her reaction to seeing the girl again, Dr. Gray was actually somewhat excited. Now she may have someone to help her. She was certain that the girl had recognized her. After the Stranded were settled in to the hospital, she would go see them – she always did anyway, to get an account any Locust tactics that perhaps the COG had missed, and would later use the information to design her weapons. Then she could approach the girl, explain some things – but no _too_ much, in case she didn't agree – and hope she would join her.

Finally they reached the barracks, and Dr. Gray held the door open for the panting Ryan, letting him in and leading him over to her bed, which was on the far side of the room.

"You can just put that on my bed, Ryan," Dr. Gray said, waving a hand in its general direction. He nodded and let out a huge sigh of relief once he placed it somewhat roughly on her bed, and then sat down next to it.

"For robots that can fly," he commented, "They sure are heavy!"

* * *

Dr. Gray woke up very early the next morning. She dressed and quietly strode through the building, past the rows of beds holding sleeping scientists and doctors of all sorts. She made her way outside, careful not to slam the heavy metal door; the dawn was just about to break, the predawn colors of red and orange painting the sky to the east. She briskly strode across the street through the freshly-fallen snow, entering the hospital with her usual commanding presence. The desk clerk looked up from her computer, peering over her glasses in a condescending manner until she saw who it was she was looking at. She stood, bowing her head in acknowledgement at the well-known scientist.

"Good morning, Dr. Gray," she said. "You are here to see the new Stranded, I presume?"

"Yes," Dr. Gray said with a curt nod. "How are they doing?"

"Fine, mostly. Some of them have frostbite, and all are a bit traumatized by the whole experience, but that is to be expected, I'm afraid."

"Very well," Dr. Gray said. She paused for a moment. "I am looking for one of them in particular at the moment." The clerk shifted uneasily, sitting back down and looking through some paperwork.

"Um… alright… which one, Doctor?" the clerk asked, glancing up at her nervously. Dr. Gray hesitated for a moment before answering as professionally as she could.

"I'd like to see the Stranded named Jaimie Gray."

* * *

**Author's Note: **This is the edit of this chapter: some minor details didn't line up with story events that haven't happened yet but I figured that I might as well fix it before I forget. It is likely that no one would have noticed, but still. It would have annoyed me. XD

Oh, sorry if you're one of the people who don't follow the books or you just don't like them and don't consider them cannon, I'm using the factories. Otherwise there would be no reason for... stuff that happens later. I kind of toned them down so that they aren't as horrible, because I read someone's comment on a forum that said something along the lines of "If that's how their society is, I wouldn't want to be fighting for them at all." And if you think about it... it makes sense. It would be a terrible thing to do. So instead the women get a choice, though I have to say that (for the purposes of my story) most of them choose the factories.

Btw, I haven't read the books so if there's anything I write that contradicts them, sorry (if you're one of those who consider it cannon. Otherwise, ignore this). Thanks for listening to my rambling and happy reading!


	3. Chapter Three: The Hospital Visit

Dr. Gray wasn't the only person to get up early that morning; nor was she the only one interested in the Longshot-weilding Stranded.

Lee, and eventually, with much persuading, Phillips, woke exceedingly early so that they could pay a visit to the girl. They had no idea when they would be shipped out again, and Lee wasn't about to give up the opportunity to find out about what could be a very valuable asset to the COG.

"Bryce is going to KILL us," Phillips complained as they stepped out into the frigid street. Snow was falling lightly, and it was almost too dark for the two companions to see. Thankfully there was a streetlamp across the street, and they started to trudge through the snow toward it.

"He's not going to find out," Lee said. "Everyone who saw us thinks we're going on patrol or something." Phillips was about to protest, but Lee continued obliviously. "Now we go in and get out before anyone notices, and show up at breakfast like normal COG soldiers." Phillips sighed again as they passed under the streetlamp, their shadows mere pools under their heavy boots.

"And why are we doing this again?" Phillips asked, his friend's conviction making arguing seem useless, though he'd tried numerous times already.

"Because we have to find out where she learned how to use that old thing. She couldn't have taught herself, you know," Lee said impatiently. "If there are under-the-radar fighters like that, we should know about them. They could _help _us. I'm not doing this just to satisfy my curiosity."

"'Course not," Phillips mumbled, stepping up out of the snow-filled street and onto the sidewalk, which only held a light dusting of snow at the moment. Lee followed, and the two men trekked the rest of the way in silence.

They finally reached the hospital, a very tall, stone building with a very practically-built entrance. It was wide with automatic doors in case of any emergencies, but they used the smaller entrance off to the side instead, the metal door sliding open with a hiss.

The lobby was a very sterile-looking place, with linoleum floors and black chairs lining the walls on either side. On the other side of the room, there was the 'desk' that was really comprised of a large, semi-circular counter typical of hospitals, and on the other side was a woman who could barely see over the tall countertop, with dark hair pulled back into a tight bun and glasses perched on her nose. She looked up at the men in a somewhat irritated manner from where she was writing on a clipboard, pushed her glasses farther up her pointed nose and narrowed her eyes at them.

"Can I help you?" she asked rudely, and Phillips cast Lee an uneasy glance. He shrugged it off and looked at the woman blankly.

"Yes ma'am. We're here to visit the Stranded that were brought in last night," Lee said. The woman raised an eyebrow. "Lieutenant Bryce wants us to check up on them. You know good ol' Bryce; he cares for anyone who happens to fall under his command… even if they're Stranded." At that he shrugged and, with one more suspicious glance, the woman scribbled down the room numbers, handed them to Lee and pointed them to a stairway off to their left.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Lee said after they were upstairs.

"You are such an idiot," Phillips commented, following close behind. Lee ignored his pessimism.

"Now all we have to do is find out which room our girl is in," Lee said, studying the numbers on the paper the rude desk clerk had given him. The hallway was fairly dim, with only what would usually be considered the emergency lights on, and it gave the place an eerie glow that made Phillips even more uneasy. Lee reached the first door and poked his head in; just like in the hallway, there was a dim light in the room, but he could see that the two occupants of this room were the older women, not the teenager they were looking for. He shut the door and checked across the hall; the convoy driver was snoring, sprawled out on the cot in what looked like a very uncomfortable position.

After trying a few more doors, they finally came to the right room; the girl was sleeping fretfully, it seemed, with a scowl etched on her features and twitching every few seconds. Lee and Phillips exchanged an uncertain look before walking quietly into the room; they didn't want to disturb the other teenager that was bunked there. Their boots thudded gently on the floor and Phillips gestured for Lee to go ahead and wake her; _he_ sure wasn't going to stand in the way. Lee sighed.

"Hey kid," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Hey kid, wake up." He stepped closer to the girl and reached out to shake her, but she hefted herself up without as much as a word, propping herself on her elbows as she blinked at the two men tiredly. All was silent for a tense, awkward moment.

"Does Lieutenant Bryce know you're here?" she asked, her voice raspy from just waking. She yawned before sitting up all the way and leaning against the wall behind her. The two men exchanged glances, surprised by the question. The girl didn't smile. "I didn't think so." She paused, scrutinizing the men for a moment. "What can I do for you this fine morning?" Her voice was laced with sarcasm, but her face showed nothing of what she was thinking, not even irritation at being woken this early. Phillips waited for Lee to proceed.

"We just wanted to know where you got that," he said, nodding toward the Longshot leaning against her bed. Her gaze shifted to it, and she reached her hand out and stroked the barrel; it was in good condition for such an old model, and the girl seemed to know it. "I haven't seen one of those things since-"

"The Pendulum Wars? Yeah, I know," she said, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Is that all you wanted to ask me about? I thought you were going to try and convince me to go to the factories again, though I should've known that they wouldn't send Gears to do that." She chuckled to herself. She relaxed some, folding her hands in her lap and looking up at the men again.

"I got it from my dad, when he died. They sent it back to us and I kept it," she said. "You two were at Landown. Who are you?" The abrupt change in subject caught the two men off guard – they weren't diplomats, obviously.

"I'm Private Daryl Lee, and this is Private Samuel Phillips. And you are?" Lee asked, grabbing a chair from the side of the bed, spinning it around and sitting in it backwards.

"Jaimie Gray," she replied, reaching out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Private." His huge, gloved hand completely covered her thin, bony one, and he frowned upon noticing that the girl looked malnourished. Her cheeks were sunken in a fraction, her hair seemed to lack the sheen of the more healthy scientists and doctors that they'd seen around Jacinto, and she was exceedingly pale.

"So how do you know the Lieutenant?" Phillips asked, pulling up another chair and feeling his armor snag on it, much to his irritation.

"Oh, well I've been on friendly terms with him for around two years now," she said, avoiding the question. Lee narrowed his eyes at her, noting her hesitation.

"Yeah? Well how did that happen?" he asked. She shifted in her cot, staring at her lap shyly. She took a deep breath and began to speak without looking up at them.

"My mom died five years ago, on E-day," she began softly. "Somehow my brother, sister and I survived – we ran to a small town outside of Landown. Some of the other people who survived took care of us. Prescott didn't destroy the town – it was much too small, and no Locust had even struck there. After he destroyed all of the major cities and military bases, my brother brought us to Landown. But as you probably know, security comes with a price, and they made my brother go into the army. He was nineteen." She paused, looking up at the two men, who were both wondering what this had to do with anything, but they waited for her to continue patiently. "My sister left to come here as a scientist, leaving me all by myself. I met this boy-" her voice was becoming strained as she tried to hold back tears – "Nick O'Brien. He taught me everything I know." The two men stared in disbelief.

"Private O'Brien?" Lee asked incredulously. "He died at Landown last night." Jaimie cast him a baleful look, as if to say 'really? I hadn't noticed'.

"I _know _that, Private. I'm a Stranded, but I'm not stupid," she snapped. "As a matter of fact, I went to school in Landown for four years, so that I could come here and study science like my sister."

"Okay, okay! Calm down, Tiger!" Lee said, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Didn't mean to offend." They stared at each other for a moment.

"So that's how you learned how to use and maintain that, huh?" Phillips asked, breaking the tense silence and nodding toward the sniper rifle still standing against the bed. She nodded. "You ever think about joining the COG?" Jaimie scoffed.

"Do I think about it? All the time. But I am, unfortunately enough, a woman who can 'reproduce'–" she spat out the word scornfully – "so they won't let me, no matter how much I could help," she said. "Are you guys gonna vouch for me or something?" There was little hope in her eyes, but she still seemed curious nonetheless as she leaned back against the wall, obviously very tired. Lee had to fight back a bitter laugh.

"They wouldn't listen to us even if we did, kid," he muttered. The girl's gaze fell back to her lap.

"How old are you, anyway?" Phillips asked.

"Seventeen. I turn eighteen next month," she said. She glanced back up at them with a pleading look. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Lee said, standing reluctantly and glancing over at the girl in the other cot. "Don't want to wake your friend, anyway." Jaimie laughed.

"Trust me, there is no danger of that happening," she said. "And don't worry, I won't tell Lieutenant Bryce you were here either." They nodded in thanks and left the room without another word.

* * *

Dr. Gray was pleased. Sure, the encounter could've gone better – perhaps _would_ have gone better, if those COG soldiers hadn't visited her first – but she'd finally convinced her younger sister to go along with her plans, and without even telling her that much about them. She'd have to be told eventually, but for right now she could use all the help she could get, and Jaimie's was the only help that could be had. Dr. Gray had already sent a request to her superiors to allow the girl to be her trainee, and now all she had to do was wait.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Ok, so after looking at Gears Wiki I realized that there's a lot of things that will be a little different from books/comics, but not enough to be AU.

Also, everyone refers to the Landown escapees as Stranded because most, if not all, of them were once Stranded and at some point or another. Even Jaimie refers to herself as one in the same way that I would still call myself Floridian even if I left Florida for 5 years. They are all citizens of the COG. Anyhow, read and review please!


	4. Chapter Four: Reminiscing

Dr. Gray didn't know how to handle a gun. That was what Jaimie was for. Or, at least, one of the things she was for. She was currently bringing Dr. Gray to meet Lt. Bryce, who was to continue training Jaimie in Nick's absence. Dr. Gray was certainly curious as to how the whole thing was set up in the first place, but she decided to bide her time before pressing her sister for information.

Jaimie, for her part, was being very quiet. She was still wearing her ratty sweatshirt underneath her trenchcoat despite her sister's offers to buy her new clothes. She had turned out to be rather independent, and Dr. Gray felt a small swelling of pride, even though she hadn't had any particular influence either way. Unless not being around counted as an influence.

Shaking her head, Dr. Gray dismissed the thoughts form her mind. No use thinking about that now; she had the future to think about.

Jaimie was doing the exact opposite, dwelling on the events of the past as she walked silently toward their rendezvous point. She didn't acknowledge Lt. Bryce beyond a sharp salute, and besides one in return, he didn't acknowledge her either. Dr. Gray introduced herself, and Jaimie soon found herself ignored as she wandered away from them to sit beside a collapsed building, leaning against it as she thought what had happened the night of Landown's capture.

She had been on her way to meet up with Nick to train as she had most nights, when the two privates Lee and Phillips had spotted her near the food stores and the locust had attacked. She sighed aloud, looking incredibly tired for a girl her age, despite the fact that she'd been in a hospital for three days, and allowed her mind to drift onto the subject on which she had nightmares every night.

"_Nemacyst!" Phillips shouted, and he and his companion had immediately started to run behind the food stores building, exactly where Jaimie was hiding. Jaimie wasn't entirely sure what a Nemacyst was, but she couldn't be caught sneaking around so she dashed down an alley, soon hearing a building explode nearby. There was a loud whistling noise that she didn't recognize ringing through the air, scaring her more than anything she'd ever encountered before. _

_Suddenly someone grabbed her and pulled her onto a side street, and she nearly screamed but whoever it was covered her mouth and shushed her. _

"_Jaimie, it's just me. Calm yourself."_

"_Nick! Thank God-"_

"_Not now, we've got to get out of here," Nick said. "Come on." They could hear people screaming a little ways off. Nick's mouth formed a grim line, and he began to jog in that direction. Jaimie followed, clutching her sniper rifle so hard that her knuckles turned white. She had never fought a living, breathing enemy before, and she was terrified. Nick remained calm, maneuvering through the backstreets until they emerged at a road teeming with scared civilians, all running, running to Jacinto, drawn there as bugs to a lamp._

_"What do we do?" Jaimie asked, slightly panicked and very pale but forcing herself to remain in control. _

_"We? We do nothing. You get out of here, I'll provide cover," Nick replied, pushing toward the back of the screaming mass of people. They mostly avoided him as he went, knowing that he was their only source of protection. Jaimie followed closely, a panicked look on her face. _

_"No! I can't leave, I can fight! I have to help!" she shouted over all the noise. _

_"You need to get out, go to Jacinto and I'll meet you there," Nick yelled back over his shoulder. _

_"I'm not going anywhere." Nick sighed, realizing that Jaimie was going to be stubborn about this and knowing that he couldn't make her leave, and that it would be a waste of time to argue. _

_"Fine," he said, finally reaching the edge of the crowd and turning around to face her. "But I swear, if anything happens to you-" He was cut off by the explosion of a nearby building, which killed some civilians and sent debris everywhere, injuring others. Jaimie paled at the gore and Nick cursed under his breath. More whistling was heard overhead, and Nick broke into a low sprint in the opposite direction of the crowd's surging movements. Jaimie struggled to keep up, until he finally stopped, not even sweating. _

_"Shit," Nick mumbled. _

_"What?" Jaimie panted. He pointed, and at first Jaimie saw nothing except darkness. She heard them first; boots, heavy and thick, pounding on the pavement. She could feel the ground shaking; she could smell the stench of blood and rotting flesh, and she fought the urge to vomit as her hair stood on end. She forced herself to stay, even though she wanted nothing more to flee when she saw them; gray, scaly, hominid creatures with fangs that seemed too large to fit in their mouths, not even wearing armor, but their equivalent of cargo pants, and even that was probably only so they could carry ammo. _

_One of them, in the front of the pack, roared a deep, guttural battle cry, which was taken up by others soon after. This one in particular, however, had a bullet through its skull before it could even finish, before it even knew it was in danger. Nick reloaded and aimed for another, and the whole mass of the vile creatures charged, many spreading throughout the city. _

_"We have to go," Nick said, knowing that there was no winning. Jaimie ran with him, and the pair of them shot the locust when they could, killing or injuring with well-placed Longshot rounds. Screaming continued, and soon the two were chased right up to the back of the crowd. They screamed even louder now that death was upon them, and Nick and Jaimie saw and heard civilians being shot or chased down despite their efforts. They couldn't save very many civilians, though any locust that approached them directly were killed by Nick's Lancer. There were too many; likely, they'd die with the civilians that they couldn't protect. _

_"Private O'Brien, your location," Lt. Bryce come in through the COM link, just as the locust retreated temporarily. _

_"Heading northeast following the civilians sir. The locust are here, but they're behind us for now." _

_"Get as many of them on the highway out as you can ASAP."_

_"Wilco," Nick replied grimly, probably thinking that the number would be small. Only the ones already on the east side of Landown had any hope of escaping, unless they knew how to protect themselves. _

_And, as it was about to be proven, that didn't guarantee survival either. _

_There was a cranking sound, almost like gears clanking together. Jaimie was puzzled by the noise, and saw a faint yellow light in the distance. _

_"Jaimie, move!" Nick yelled. He ran over to her, spraying Lancer bullets in the general direction._

_"Futile!" a hoarse, strained voice said, and the wet sound of something piercing flesh was heard. Nick looked back at Jaimie, and she saw that it was an arrow of some sort, sticking out of his chest, still glowing. His pained look startled her. _

_"Take care of yourself," he said, sprinting forward into a crowd of locust. Jaimie didn't know what he meant and was about to run after him when fire and gore exploded from his core, engulfing some locust with him while others fell. She screamed, but was soon silenced by the strained voice again, like the wind or a siren, willing her to her death. She saw a locust dressed in a cape with an odd helmet that covered all of its face but its teeth, decked out in red armor making its way toward her, and not in any hurry either. In its claws was what seemed to be a bow, an arrow notched in it. It laughed, pulling the trigger, and the cranking noise started again. It was quite a ways off, Jaimie saw, but she knew there was nowhere to run. She brought her scope up to her eye, hoping she could pull off the shot before she ended up like Nick was. A single tear slid down her cheek as she pulled the trigger, her bullet sliding through the helmet like paper and cleanly killing the locust. She rolled to the side, in case the creature had already loosed the arrow, but saw that in its death the explosive arrow struck into the ground several yards short of its target, and instead of trying to kill the few other locust that were with it, she ran, crouched to avoid the Hammer Burst bullets flying at her... _

Jaimie was crying even after her reverie, wishing that it had been a sick nightmare, that her childhood friend could still be with her. Or at least that there had been a body to grieve for, but instead all that was left of him were limbs and bloodstains.

She jumped when she heard a gunshot, and turned her head slightly to see that Lt. Bryce was trying to show Dr. Gray how to shoot, though she was having a terrible time of it. The target they'd set up wasn't even punctured, though, looking at the ground, Jaimie saw a few empty cartriges. They weren't real bullets, she knew; Lt. Bryce would never waste supplies for such a thing as teaching a Doctor how to shoot a sniper rifle.

Jaimie wiped her eyes and sighed. What did Dr. Gray want with her anyway? She said she'd wanted her to help get revenge for their father's death, but now it was about much more than that. At least, for Jaimie it was. Would Dr. Gray try to join the army after she learned how to shoot? Couldn't she have just joined, and they would teach her then? As far as Jaimie knew, they weren't going to let either of them join anyway; they _were_ fertile females, after all. After a few minutes of listening to Lt. Bryce try to tell Dr. Gray how to aim properly, Jaimie stood, walked up to them, and wordlessly fixed her sister's stance, physically moving her into the position in a way she knew Bryce would never do. The she stood in the pose herself, raised her old sniper scope to her eye and aimed it at the target, right in the center, and fired. The recoil pushed it into her shoulder, bruised from the very same thing, and she hissed in pain. With that, she reloaded and walked away.

Dr. Gray stared at her sister in amazement careful not to move from the careful position that she'd put her in. Her sister was pretty good. And, the doctor knew, she had a lot to learn.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Woo, an update! I know its been forever, lol. I'm working on a lot right now, though. Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated. Heartfelt thanks to those who are still following after all this time... haha.

**Edit: **Alrighty. I have edited every chapter so far. A new chapter is coming soon... for realz.


	5. Chapter 5: Vengeance

IT LIVES!

Wow. I am really sorry guys. I didn't mean to take so long but college has kept me insanely busy. And it will be like ten times worse if I can get a job. But uh, I'm trying to get myself on a schedule. -.-'

If you're reading this right now, I am really, really sorry for the wait and really, really grateful you came back. XD

Thanks and enjoy!

* * *

Five years.

That's how long it had been since Landown was taken.

Dr. Gray taught Jaimie almost everything she knew in those five years. Her apprentice was a quick study, mildly interested in science but with a passion for technology - particularly war technology. Which was just as well, as Dr. Gray specialized in war technology. For the past five years, the pair had been developing new armor and upgrading weaponry. Sometimes they were brought Locust weapons to study. This always left Jaimie particularly quiet and Dr. Gray somewhat indifferent. As far as she was concerned, there were bigger fish to fry.

As for the relationship between the two, there was only a sort of indifference. Dr. Gray had her own ambitions that overtook her thoughts, and Jaimie was just a quiet person by nature, it seemed. The doctor never did find out why it was that Jaimie was learning how to fight from a COG soldier. Her sister was a mysterious person. To be fair, she probably seemed pretty mysterious as well, because she never had told her true intentions.

Even so, Jaimie almost never talked about herself or of her four years in Landown when she lived on her own. Dr. Gray never pried. On some days, she would see Jaimie with her other teenage friend, who would soon be off to work in someplace or another. On other days, she would disappear entirely. Dr. Gray hoped the girl wasn't wandering the outskirts or anything rash like that. It wouldn't do for the girl to get herself killed or, heaven forbid, go rogue. Then Dr. Gray would have to answer for it.

The lab had gotten to be a mess these days. Spare parts were everywhere. There was a bot on one of the tables - functioning well but powered off for the time being - and a Centaur's gun and mount on the floor in the back. But Dr. Gray and her sister were at a smaller table, close to the door with a suit of COG armor on it. It was smaller than the standard-issue, and missing the insignia of a gear with a Locust skull in the center. It was missing pelvis, thigh, and arm plates: in their places was a type of armor that looked very much like the under-armor that the soldiers normally wore. The women were working on an internal cloaking system that would make the wearer practically invisible. It would be an essential asset if Dr. Gray's goals were to be reached.

Ryan entered the lab, earlier than usual, not noticing as Dr. Gray nonchalantly covered the armor they had just been adjusting and pretended to be busy scribbling something on her clipboard. A practiced routine, Jaimie inspected a torque bow they had lying around - for show, of course, though she didn't understand why they had to hide their work from Ryan. Surely he had no ill intentions (frankly, Jaimie didn't think the man was capable of it) for them or their work. But Jaimie had learned to follow orders.

"Dr. Gray!" Ryan greeted cheerily. "And Dr. Gray Junior!" Jaimie grunted in away reminiscent of a soldier, probably from spending too much time growing up with them. "How are you today?"

"I should hope you have some important reason for interrupting," Dr. Gray stated darkly. She never had any patience for the man unless she needed something from him, and that was a rare occurrence.

"Oh! Well, actually, yes," Ryan started, fidgeting a little. "You see, the chairman is coming in a few weeks."

"The chairman hasn't gone anywhere," Dr. Gray deadpanned, feigning ignorance. She knew that the boy hadn't meant Prescott.

"I'm talking about Sebastian Rivers, the old UIR chairman," Ryan explained, looking a tad proud of himself. "He's found his way back and apparently there's a comparatively large population of his old supporters with him. He's going to negotiate with Chairman Prescott for a place to stay." Dr. Gray pondered this for a moment, inwardly smiling. Outwardly, she remained indifferent.

"Thank you for telling me. This is an interesting development, though I fail to see what it has to do with me." There was a clatter and a hiss of pain, and both Ryan and Dr. Gray turned to Jaimie. Her hand was cut, and the torque bow she had been 'examining' had dropped to the floor. The blade that normally adorned the front was a few feet away, covered in blood. Jaimie pressed her thumb onto the cut and looked up at them awkwardly.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Dr. Gray pointed Ryan in the direction of a first aid kit and began treating her sister's hand. Jaimie winced a little as peroxide cleaned the wound, and then the doctor wrapped it.

"You should probably go get this checked for tetanus or any strange diseases the Locust might carry," Dr. Gray commented as she finished wrapping Jaimie's hand. "Who knows what was on that blade?" Jaimie paled and nodded, turning to leave the lab. "Be sure to come back when you are finished to help me clean up." Jaimie paused, looking over her shoulder with her brows furrowed, then nodded curtly and hurried out the door.

What was wrong with her all of a sudden? Dr. Gray pondered her sister's strange behavior for only a moment before turning back to Ryan.

"Would you be so kind as to catch up with her? She seemed to be a bit squeamish," she said. Ryan nodded and ran off after Jaimie. With a sigh, Dr. Gray bent over and picked up the fallen torque bow and its blade, bringing it over to a table and wiping it off with a rag. She would have to tell Jaimie to put it back together later. Dr. Gray had more important things to attend to.

* * *

Almost an hour later, Jaimie and Ryan returned. Ryan was quickly shooed away under the pretense that the sisters had 'much to do and not much time in which to do it'. With that, Dr. Gray locked the door and turned to a very confused-looking Jaimie.

"While you were gone, I finished modifying the cloaking system on the armor. As you know, this particular set of armor has been stripped of many components to make it lighter," Dr. Gray began. Jaimie nodded uncertainly, noting that her sister seemed to be going through a checklist to herself more than anything. "The heavier components can be easily re-attached if the need arises. I suppose you have been wondering what we have been doing this for, and why it was of utmost importance that it remained strictly confidential." Jaimie nodded again, slowly.

"I don't suppose you remember much of our father?" Dr. Gray asked. Jaimie blinked at her in shock. That had been out of the blue. Dr. Gray had her doubts that Jaimie would remember someone who had died over ten years previously, and who she hadn't seen even before that. As expected, the girl shook her head.

"I'm afraid not," Jaimie replied. Her gaze flicked to one of the back tables, where Dr. Gray knew their father's Longshot was kept. The smallest of smiles touched Dr. Gray's lips.

"Well, I believe it is about time that we avenged him."

Jaimie's brows shot up, either in surprise or recognition or excitement, Dr. Gray couldn't be sure.

"Come with me," Dr. Gray demanded, scooping up the suit of COG armor and dumping it into Jaimie's arms. Jaimie followed her as she went to the back of the room, removing two books from the bookshelf to reveal a keypad. Dr. Gray entered a code and a nearby section of wall simply opened, sliding into the ceiling and disappearing as if the doorway had always been there. Dim florescent lights came to life overhead, lighting a short hallway with another door at the end. Dr. Gray led her sister inside, and the door opened automatically to reveal a room, much smaller than the lab but very clean and organized.

Once inside, Dr. Gray took the armor from Jaimie and mounted it on a stand, sort of like a mannequin. There was a helmet nearby, as well as boots and gloves. On the other side of the room there was an identical suit. In the back were all the pieces that had been stripped off; the lower-abdomen and pelvic plates as well as the ones that belonged on the thighs. Dr. Gray turned to her sister.

"Who do you think was responsible for our father's death?" she asked. Jaimie didn't answer; she just stared, raising one shoulder as a half-shrug. "The UIR, of course. They are the ones who killed him." Jaimie's face remained neutral. "And Sebastian Rivers was their leader, so he is the one who should pay. With our armor, it will be easy to find a good place to snipe him from."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Jaimie asked quietly, her gaze turned to the floor. Dr. Gray's anger started to surface.

"Of course it is! It's what he deserves, not only for our father but for all of the other men who died!" Dr. Gray snapped. Jaimie didn't respond for a moment, but then she nodded.

"Alright then. What's the plan?"

Dr. Gray smiled. Sebastian Rivers' debt was long overdue.

* * *

The next afternoon was when Sebastian Rivers was scheduled to meet with Chairman Prescott. The wait was something Dr. Gray almost could not bear. The two siblings had spent most of the day in the lab, but had closed it down early due to a "chemical spill". This was, of course, very much on purpose so that Dr. Gray could gather as much information as she could. But after she found out the location and time, and if there would be an escort, she did not know what to do with herself.

For most of the interval, she spent her time in her barracks, going over the carefully-calculated plans once more and making final adjustments. When she was finished with that she checked her watch: three o'clock. There were still many hours until the plan would start. Impatiently, Dr. Gray went outside and lit a cigarette, leaning against the building as she smoked. Normally she would abstain from such a filthy habit, but now she was stressed and allowed herself the indulgence. She wondered briefly where her sister had run off too.

Jaimie had reacted rather strangely to her plans, Dr. Gray thought. She expected either strong agreement or an outright refusal, but had instead received a question:

"_Are you sure that's what you want?"_

It was such an odd question. Dr. Gray had wanted revenge for her father ever since the day he died. She had always been quite close to the man and had been upset when he was sent away for war. And he had survived nearly the entire ordeal, as well; he hadn't died until almost a year before the war ended, just before the war ended. And then, mere months after the war, the locust had appeared.

This was a stroke of luck. Dr. Gray had worried that she would never find the UIR chairman and would never get her chance to avenge her father.

"Dr. Gray!" Her thoughts were interrupted by Ryan, once again. This was why she'd had him assigned to someone else, only stopping into her lab near the end of the day just in case she needed help with something such as heavy lifting.

"Good afternoon, Blake," Dr. Gray said in an attempt to sound polite.

"I found out where Junior goes when she 'disappears'," Ryan said, grinning proudly. Dr. Gray had been curious about this for some time – although it seemed rather irrelevant now – so she humored the man.

"Did you? And where would that be?" she asked. Ryan stood next to her and leaned against the wall, grateful to be out of the sun, it seemed.

"She goes to one of the civilian camps, just outside of Jacinto," he explained. "I was running an errand for one of the other scientists and saw her there. She was with some kid." Dr. Gray exhaled some smoke before responding.

"A kid?" she asked. She considered anyone up to Jaimie's age a kid, so this was not very specific to her. Ryan nodded.

"Yeah, do you have a nephew?" Dr. Gray shook her head, eyebrows raised in shock at the question. "Oh, well then I wonder who it was? I thought it was her son." Dr. Gray pondered this for a moment.

Could it have been Jaimie's son? Just because Jaimie had never mentioned him before did not mean that the possibility didn't exist. Why would she hide it though? The only reason she could think was if the child was born under bad circumstances… had her sister been raped when she was in Landown on her own? Dr. Gray felt what might have been a twinge of guilt at the thought. But then she remembered that there was another COG soldier who Jaimie had been close to… what was his name? Private O'Brien, the one that had died during the Winter of Sorrows, if Dr. Gray's memory served. They had been close. Perhaps they'd had a child together.

The more important question at the moment, however, was what Jaimie would do with the child. He certainly could not come with them on their mission, and they probably would not have time to pick him up afterward. And he couldn't survive with them, unable to defend himself, away from Jacinto Plateau.

"Maybe we should ask her when she comes back," Ryan suggested, noticing the troubled look on the doctor's face. Dr. Gray frowned in disapproval and shook her head.

"If she wanted anyone to know, she would have told me," Dr. Gray pointed out. Ryan didn't seem to agree with this answer, but he didn't protest. Dr. Gray put out her cigarette and turned to go back inside.

"See you tomorrow, Dr. Gray!" Ryan said good-naturedly. Dr. Gray only hesitated for a moment before continuing on her way, mentally kicking herself for the hesitation.

She needed to stay calm. If she started acting suspicious and got caught before the operation was complete, then all of the years of hard work would go to waste. After Sebastian Rivers was dead, it wouldn't matter what happened to her. But she knew she couldn't say in Jacinto.

After all, it was her intention that he knew who was killing him and why it was he was being slain. Otherwise, his death would have no meaning at all.

Dr. Gray retreated to the barracks and anxiously awaited nightfall.

* * *

After what felt like an eternity, night finally came. Dr. Gray had no trouble getting out of the barracks, considering that no one bothered to question her anymore. She walked to the lab, staying mostly in shadow, before reaching the one window she had left open. She climbed through, shutting and locking it behind her, and made her way to the hidden hallway in the back.

It was then that her giddy excitement morphed into panic.

The door was already open. That meant her specialized armor – her secret weapon, so to speak – had been compromised.

_Calm down, Jaimie must be here already._

After attempting to calm herself down, she walked briskly through the passageway. As she entered the room, she saw that her armor was still there. Jaimie's was not.

_She must have already moved into position._

Calming some as she strapped on her armor, Dr. Gray was able to gather her thoughts. As she began to think things through more clearly, she came to a realization.

She'd never given Jaimie the code to this room. So how had she opened the door? Had it even been her younger sister that had been here? It must have been; she was the only one who Dr. Gray had shown this place to. She debated with herself for a moment, unable to decide if Jaimie would help or hinder her. With a glance at the back table, she saw that all of the spare parts for her sister's armor were gone as well, presumably with the person in question. That had not been part of the plan.

Cursing, Dr. Gray grabbed her late father's outdated Longshot from where she'd hidden it and made her decision; better to be safe than sorry. If she found Jaimie, she would dispose of her as a traitor.

After making absolutely certain that the secret room had been locked up, Dr. Gray started making adjustments to her plan. She fingered the old Longshot and smiled to herself. Her sister had brought this gun with her when she'd arrived from Jacinto. Of course it was self-incriminating of her to leave Jacinto after she killed Rivers, but she couldn't risk staying here, especially now that her sister had disappeared. But with her father's gun, she could also put Jaimie in the crosshairs of the chairman. The gun was the only known one of its kind still in use, and Jaimie would be the one tied to it, provided Dr. Gray didn't find her first. Either way, Jaimie would not get out of this unscathed.

* * *

Dr. Gray's years of patience was rewarded a short while later. She smiled to herself as Sebastian Rivers walked into view, flanked by two COG soldiers for protection. Without a second thought, Dr. Gray threw a smoke grenade as far as she could, landing a little short and causing one of the soldiers to shout in alarm, pushing Rivers back and moving forward through the smoke slowly. The closest one was down before the cloud of smoke was gone, suffering a bullet through the throat. The second shot at her position, but her camouflage kept her hidden. Soon he was down as well, this time with a more accurate shot in the skull. Neither would be getting up again. Dr. Gray moved out from her hiding place in one of the alleys. She de-cloaked, removing her helmet and approaching the ex-Chairman, her rifle on her back. He pointed a pistol at her defiantly.

"I think you should stop there," he said. She did as she was told. "Was that you who killed them? You don't seem too concerned about any Locust that might be around here."

Dr. Gray sneered.

"I am highly doubtful of the Locusts' ability to breach Jacinto Plateau," she said, shifting her weight. "Do you know who I am, Chairman Rivers?" Rivers narrowed his eyes at her, but did not lower his weapon. "Perhaps you knew my father. General James Gray?" Rivers looked slightly startled by this remark,.

"Prescott's General from the Pendulum Wars. You're his daughter?" he asked. "What do you want?" She put her helmet back on and locked it into place.

"I wanted you to know exactly who I was," she said, quickly grabbing her sniper rifle and swinging it to firing position, "so that you would know who it was that killed you. This is for my father, you bastard."

Rivers fired the pistol a few times, but it bounced off of Dr. Gray's armor uselessly. Dr. Gray almost scoffed; the man hadn't even tried to shoot at the less armored parts of her body. Funny how men who knew nothing of combat took it upon themselves to lead wars.

After seeing how futile his shots were, Rivers attempted to run. Dr. Gray had planned this too well, however, and had picked a rather open place to ambush him. She aligned the sight and with a loud crack ended the former chairman's life. She picked up the empty shell from the rifle and reloaded the weapon, just in case.

All of a sudden she heard crackling over the COM.

"-ere?" she heard, prickling at the voice. It was Jaimie, the traitor. "I am now in position and I have visual contact." Dr. Gray knew exactly where she'd be: on one of the nearby rooftops, none of which were really that high. She spun around and looked through the scope, firing before aiming properly and missing her sister by nearly a foot. She scowled, but when she looked up again, Jaimie was gone.

Dr. Gray frowned, cursing under her breath. She looked back at Sebastian Rivers, feeling little satisfaction for her revenge. Writing it off to nerves, she tossed the old Longshot off to the side, where the COG would find it later. They would pick up her sister's trail and hunt her for the rest of her days. Jaimie Gray was not coming back to Jacinto.

There was shouting in the distance as COG soldiers approached. Dr. Gray activated her cloak, disappearing into the night.


	6. Chapter 6: Ephyra

**Four Years Later**

"Aw man, this blows!" a blonde COG soldier complained. The rest of his squad, including Lieutenant Bryce, completely ignored him; they were beyond used to his constant complaining. They were now in Ephyra, passing through to get to a nearby factory so they could deploy a device called the resonator, which would, with any luck, map out the Locust's underground tunnels so that they could destroy them with a Lightmass bomb, effectively making their underground homes into their graves.

"Come on, Baird!" a large black man said jovially. "This is awesome! One of the most important missions we'll ever go on, baby!"

"Yeah, Cole," Baird replied sarcastically. "But going into the hollow is generally considered not good for one's health. Mine included." Cole laughed and shook his head, as if he were talking to a stubborn child instead of a squad mate.

"Quiet," Lieutenant Bryce said. "We're in enemy territory now."

Lieutenant Bryce had been moved from Theta Squad to Alpha, because both teams were missing some members. Now he was their leader, and, though he liked his men and would die to protect them, sometimes he thought that they were just too much. His squad was much larger now; Phillips and Lee had come with him, and in addition there was Redshirt Guyles, Privates Damon Baird and Agustus Cole, and Sergeant Jan Rojas. They were well-equipped and well-rounded enough to be able to do this mission, he thought, but he knew better than to throw caution to the wind. There was no way he was about to fail after he'd come this far, especially when this could end the war.

So far, the city was deserted. There were no Locust or humans in sight, and it made Bryce slightly uneasy. He'd rather they be fighting him tooth and nail; something to reassure him that the Locust hadn't set a trap for them. They moved through the city silently, keeping a watch out for any Locust that might be waiting for them, and still none came.

"Man, this just ain't _right,_" Cole mumbled, voicing Bryce's thoughts. "Where are all the grubs?"

"I kind of like it like this," Guyles commented. Baird rolled his eyes just as a tremor shook the ground, and all of the Gears stopped in their tracks.

"Speak of the devil," Lee said. All of them moved behind cover, aiming at where they felt the tremors were centered. As expected, the ground caved in, and they all opened fire at the fat gray fingers that grasped at the edges, pulling up the scaly, thick-skinned Locust they belonged to. Many of the first ones didn't get through to the surface, falling back down on top of their comrades.

"Grenade out!" Lt. Bryce called, tossing a bolo-style grenade into the hole and effectively causing it to cave in with the explosion. His team started to pick off the few stragglers that had mad it above ground before they felt more tremors shaking the pavement.

"Shit," Baird said, reloading his standard-issue Lancer. Another hole opened up, farther away from where the last one had, and they couldn't get any good shots as the first Locust – bold or stupid, none could be sure – made their way out of their underground home. They dashed behind their own cover, shouting things such as 'ground-walkers!' and 'humans!', as if they hadn't known that they were there before their hole had mysteriously shown up about fifty yards in front of them. Baird hated the Locust not only because they wanted to kill him, but because they were just plain idiotic. They were almost as bad as the Stranded. Almost.

"Yeah, woo! Bring it _on,_ baby!" Cole yelled, spraying Lancer fire at the Locust drones that had emerged first. Grenadiers followed, though they would be much less deadly than they could be at such a long range, their Gnasher shotguns ineffective at that distance.

"Damn it!" Baird yelled as more tremors shook the ground. Now the tremors were really strong, and he couldn't exactly tell which direction they were coming from – behind them? He looked back and saw that yes, they had opened a hole behind them, and they were probably trying to split them up in the large street they were fighting in.

"Hey, we have Locust on our six!" Baird yelled irritably. Rojas turned around, and Baird could only imagine his expression underneath his helmet. Baird tossed a grenade at the hole, but his aim was a bit sloppy from even _more_ tremors – how many were there, anyway? – and he missed everything altogether, not even hitting a Locust as they crawled out of the holes. A grenadier that had just emerged laughed hoarsely at him, firing shotgun blasts at him from a good fifty meters away. Due to the distance between them and the Locust, he and Cole had some time to duck behind some other cover, hoping that the rest of their squad had their backs.

They didn't really have to worry about that, much; the Locust from the second hole didn't seem to be concerned with them. Some of them dashed around the corner to the next street before any of the Gears could get a good shot on him while others forced them to keep their heads down, and they could see that the building on the corner had Locust crawling all over it.

"What the hell?" Lee yelled, voicing the entire squad's opinion on the matter.

"Snipers!" Lt. Bryce shouted, and everyone immediately ducked down. Unfortunately for Baird and Cole, they had their backs to the building where the snipers were, so they were sitting ducks. Cole leaped over the debris he'd been hiding behind and ducked down, firing at the distant grenadiers who'd popped up behind them. Baird looked up into the building and saw a Locust pointing its Longshot right at him.

"Aw, shit," he said, thinking that there was no way he could move out of the way before the ugly creature could pull the trigger. But that sure as hell wasn't going to stop him from trying.

He started to dive forward, toward the car where he'd been hiding behind previously, and he launched himself off the ground just as the Locust sniper's head exploded, a trail from a Longshot bullet leading somewhere off to Baird's left. He managed to come out of the roll and crouch behind the car, and, peering through the busted window, he shouted;

"I didn't think you could snipe like that, Cole!"

"That's because I can't, baby," Cole responded. "I don't know who that was, but it sure wasn't me." With that, Cole tossed a frag into the hole that Baird had missed earlier, closing it before tearing down the grenadiers with his lancer. He joined Baird again once he thought all was finished, and grinned at him.

"Yeah, baby! I'm in the zone!" he yelled enthusiastically, punching his friend's shoulder playfully. Baird ignored him and turned his attention back to the Locust threat.

The rest of Alpha had managed to close the second grub hole, but the number of Locust had significantly increased before they could. Baird took a brief count and decided that they must've been outnumbered two to one, at least. More came from around the corner, mostly drones, as the grenadiers had disappeared a while ago; they had either died or run down the street and around the corner, leaving the Gears to wonder just what was so important down there anyway. They easily took most of the remaining drones down either by grenade or Lancer, and they made their way forward until they could see down the street.

The trailing smoke from sniper shots, along with the loud crack that accompanied it, appeared every few seconds, taking down grubs from the opposite building, where the snipers were situated.

"Who _is_ that?" Guyles yelled, a hint of awe in his voice.

"Who cares?" Phillips replied. "As long as he's against them and not us."

"There's another hole!" Lee shouted, pointing to the middle of the street, where there was, indeed, a fourth grub hole, steam rising up from below Sera's surface, possibly from immulsion.

"Rojas, Baird, and Cole; close that hole and clean this up out here. The rest of you are with me; we're going to assist our sniper friend," Lt. Bryce commanded, and he started to run toward the building on their left, followed by Phillips, Lee, and Guyles.

"Woo! Oh yeah, baby! We _got _this!" Cole yelled, storming out of his hiding spot. He took down three Locust drones with Lancer spray before slamming a new clip into the chainsaw-mounted weapon. He ducked behind the cover that had previously been occupied by Lt. Bryce and pulled out his shotgun, promptly hopping over the debris and blasting away many of the closer Locust while Baird and Rojas picked off those that were farther away.

"And you couldn't do that before, why?" Baird questioned in his typically irritable fashion.

"I had to let y'all have some of the action," Cole replied, grinning crookedly. Baird rolled his eyes and Rojas seemed to ignore them altogether as he tossed a frag into the hole, closing it up as they had been closing up the others, and it wasn't long before the street was cleared of the locust.

"Now lets go help that snipin' dude," Cole said emphatically. Baird and Rojas nodded, reloaded and headed for the building.

Suddenly Baird felt something grab the back of his armor, pulling him toward it before he found himself sprawled on his back, his lancer skidding across the pavement somewhere behind him. Before he could get up, he was winded by a weight coming down on his sternum. He cursed, staring up the barrel of a shotgun. The locust holding it was grinning, laughing at Baird's misfortune. Baird reached for his pistol, but before he could grab it, the locust's head exploded, causing the body to collapse on him, blood sputtering out of its neck onto his face. He scrambled to stand, pushing the dead weight away from him and wiping the blood out of his eyes. He grabbed his lancer and ran for cover, straight to where Cole was, looking shocked at the whole situation.

"Shit, man," Cole said. "Whoever that dude is, you owe him!"

"Big time," Rojas added.

"I don't want to talk about it," Baird mumbled. "We'll get him out of here and consider it even."

"Whatever you say, Baird," Cole replied as they made their way inside. No Locust were in the front room, but they could still hear the muffled gunshots upstairs. "Ugh, you smell like _ass_," he added, crinkling his nose at Baird.

Baird glared at him and followed his friend up the stairs.

All of the Locust that had escaped from them earlier, as well as a handful of other Locust, seemed to be frantically attempting to reach the top of the stairs. Some of them were yelling orders at each other, and one toppled down the stairs, half of its face missing.

The building shook, an explosion sounding at the top of the stairs. Gore rained down from the staircase.

"Yeah baby! That's how you do it!" Cole yelled before charging in at the crowd, shotgun blazing as he cut down some of the surprised Locust. Baird and Rojas ducked behind whatever cover they could find – in this case, some old desks – and assisted Cole with their Lancers.

Baird couldn't help but wonder, and not for the first time, how Cole managed to do that so much and not die.

On the fourth floor they found a dead Locust, his head hardly recognizable as being anything but a hunk of meat and bone.

"Damn, this guy's efficient," Rojas commented.

"Shit yeah, baby!" Cole replied, grinning.

"He wasn't talking about you," Baird said as he picked up the locust's discarded sniper rifle from the pool of fresh blood on the floor, wiping it off quickly before following Cole up the stairs. Cole made quick work of the few locust they encountered in the higher floors of the building until they reached the roof.

"Not that you aren't," Baird added, though he went unheard.

"That must be where he is," Rojas said, pointing to the neighboring building. A few floors lower there was a path that connected the buildings and through the windows they could see Locust going into the room.

"I'm going in," Cole said, springing back down the stairs with Rojas close behind. Baird lifted the Longshot to his eye and looked through the scope, shooting into the group of Locust. He wasn't nearly as accurate as the mystery sniper he was supposed to be helping, but he brought down Locust with shots to the neck or chest, either to be trampled or killed by his teammates who he assumed were assisting down below.

He only had a few shots in the used Longshot, however, and soon they were depleted. Cursing to himself, he slung the weapon over his shoulder and pulled out his once again, storming down the stairs to go help his comrades.

However, Baird arrived after the rest of his team had swept up the place clean of Locust (fortunately for him; he didn't like fighting that much anyway). Cole and Rojas were poking around a few of the dead bodies in a huge room that was missing its windows, one that looked like it must've been a conference room of some sort in the former days of civilization. On the other side of the room Lieutenant Bryce, Lee, and Phillips, crowded around the sniper, Baird assumed. Guyles was currently guarding the door, but even while wearing a helmet one could tell that his attention was mostly on the conversation going on across the room. Baird approached tensely, trying to calm the adrenaline that still pumped through his veins from the fighting. And almost dying twice.

"What are you doing here?" Lee asked, obviously delighted. Baird, confused, wondered how he could've known the sniper and walked around Phillips. He stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted the sniper.

The first thing Baird noticed was that this was most certainly a woman. She was wearing what seemed to be a modified version of standard COG armor, and where there weren't metal plates there was a sleeker, tighter version of the COG under-armor. And there were a lot of plates missing, to put it mildly. The girl was currently leaning slightly on her Longshot and smiling crookedly at the three men she'd been talking to a moment before, though her stringy frame seemed to be ready should anything happen within the next second, like a cat waiting to pounce. She was tall, for a girl, but still shorter than all of the men there, with green eyes and dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"I've been camping out here for a while now," the sniper said, replying to Lee's earlier question with a shrug. "I don't really have anywhere else to go…"

"Since that thing with your sister. Yeah, we heard," Phillips said.

"I think _everyone_ heard. No one's seen her since, you know," Lee put in. The girl nodded gravely but didn't say anything. Her gaze turned to Baird, who was watching with an irate expression on his face, per usual, still clutching his Lancer in his grasp.

"Hey there!" the girl greeted with a broad smile. Her smile faded as she studied the man, and soon she was frowning in concentration. "Sorry about all the blood. But at least it's not yours right?" She smiled again, but Baird seemed unresponsive to her friendly nature. Her lip twitched a little as she fought frowning again, and she held out her hand. "My name is Jaimie Gray. You must be Baird." After a little scrutinizing, Baird accepted her hand and shook it.

"Yup. That's me," he said. "Do you mind telling me why the hell you're out here all by yourself? I'm afraid I didn't understand all the crap about your sister." Jaimie narrowed her eyes at Baird, pressing her lips together in a thin line.

"Baird, leave it alone," Lt. Bryce warned. "We don't have time for this. Are you going to cover us?" The last question was directed at Jaimie, who grinned back at him.

"'Course. Have I ever let you down before?" she said. Then she looked over her shoulder suddenly, startling the other men in the room, before she spun around and lifted her Longshot, abruptly pulling the trigger. Across the street, a body could be seen tumbling to the ground from one of the upper floors of the building. Lee clapped a hand on her shoulder.

"Good to have you back, Gray," he said.

"Good to be back," she commented, sliding a new bullet into her longshot and scanning the building for any other remaining Locust. Satisfied, she turned back to the group again. "So what's the plan?"

"That's classified information," Baird cut in. Lt. Bryce and Pvt. Gray both glared at him.

"He's going to be a squealer, isn't he?" Gray asked. Baird looked offended.

"Not if there isn't anything to squeal about. What are you hiding from, anyway?"

"That's classified information," she snapped. "Asshole…"

The two of them glared daggers at each other, causing Lee and Phillips to snicker at each other. Baird opened his mouth to say something, but Bryce cut in.

"Private, stand down!"

With one final glare, Baird ran his fingers through his hair, now stiff with dried blood, and sighed.

"Fine," he said.

"Then let's move out."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Originally the scene where Baird is pinned by the locust was him in a headlock, but then I read Anvil Gate (that's the name of the first book, right?) and like, the EXACT SAME THING happens. I was like... noooooo! Cuz I didn't want to seem like I copied it. I still liked the other one better. But whatever.

And before you go screaming "Mary-Sue!" remember that Bernie was just as badass (if not, then more. Jaimie never had to eat dogs or skin cats), and that she learned from Nick, who is implied to be badass (well, as his creator I can tell you he was). Plus... well. She'll get hers later. Promise.


End file.
